UNT students protest Jeff Younger, conservative speech on ‘transgender child abuse’

Student protests over a conservative politician who promotes criminalizing sex reassignment surgeries for children escalated to police intervention during a Wednesday night event at the University of North Texas. Videos circulating online show dozens of students banging on desks, shouting and cursing at Jeff Younger, who will be in a May runoff in the Republican primary for Texas House District 63. He was involved in a yearslong custody battle for his child, whose mother says is a transgender girl. Eventually, Younger and Kelly Neidert, chairman emeritus of UNT’s branch of the Young Conservatives of Texas, left the hall under police escort as a few hundred protesters were outside the building, some chanting “protect trans kids,” witnesses said. A video on social media appears to show protesters standing in front of an emergency vehicle as uniformed officers attempt to clear the roadway.

Younger declined a request for comment. UNT President Neal Smatresk wrote in a campus-wide email that police were located inside and outside the building, while some Texas Department of Public Safety officers were “staged at a nearby location as an extra safety precaution.” Protesters surrounded the police vehicles Younger and Neidert were in, attempting to block them from exiting the scene, Smatresk continued. While university officials have heard accounts of a protester who was reportedly injured during that time, they do not have confirmed details, he added. Police were able to disperse the crowd and drive the event’s organizers and guests away. “We have always touted the importance of freedom of expression and been proud of our students’ ability to speak up for themselves and participate in nonviolent protest,” Smatresk said. “We have always been a passionate community that stands up for our ideals, but last night’s behavior by some individuals is not reflective of the UNT I know and love.” Neidert, a senior majoring in marketing at UNT, said the volume of backlash and threats of violence against her “exponentially increased” about a week before the event.